The development and psychometric properties of a measure of social and adaptive functioning for children and adolescents

Developed, piloted, and examined the psychometric properties of the Child and Adolescent Social and Adaptive Functioning Scale (CASAFS), a self-report measure designed to examine the social functioning of young people in the areas of school performance, peer relationships, family relationships, and home duties/self-care. The findings of confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis support a 4-factor solution consistent with the hypothesized domains. Fit indexes suggested that the 4-correlated factor model represented a satisfactory solution for the data, with the covariation between factors being satisfactorily explained by a single, higher order factor reflecting social and adaptive functioning in general. The internal consistency and 12-month test-retest reliability of the total scale was acceptable. A significant, negative correlation was found between the CASAFS and a measure of depressive symptoms, showing that high levels of social functioning are associated with low levels of depression. Significant differences in CASAFS total and subscale scores were found between clinically depressed adolescents and a matched sample of nonclinical controls. Adolescents who reported elevated but subclinical levels of depression also reported lower levels of social functioning in comparison to nonclinical controls.

Diversity and change in Australia's rangelands: a post-productivist transition with a difference?

Australia's rangelands are experiencing a post-productivist transition at a tempo comparable to Western Europe's, but in contexts that ensure marked divergence in impulses, actors, processes and outcomes. In Australia's most marginal lands, a flimsy mode of pastoral occupance is being displaced by renewed indigenous occupance, conservation and tourism, with significant changes in land ownership, property rights, investment sources and power relations, but also with structural problems arising from fugitive income streams. The sharp delineation between structurally coherent commodity-oriented regions and emerging amenity-oriented regions can provisionally be mapped at a national scale. A comparison of Australia with Western Europe indicates that three distinct but interconnected driving forces are propelling the rural transition, namely: agricultural overcapacity; the emergence of amenity-oriented uses; and changing societal values.

Percolation Phenomena in Micropore Adsorption: Influence on Single and Multicomponent Adsorption Equilibria

A novel and simple method for determination of micropore network connectivity of activated carbon using liquid phase adsorption is presented in this paper. The method is applied to three different commercial carbons with eight different liquid phase adsorptives as probes. The effect of the pore network connectivity on the prediction of multicomponent adsorption equilibria was also studied. For this purpose, the Ideal Adsorbed Solution Theory (IAST) was used in conjuction with the modified DR single component isotherm. The results of comparison with experimental data show that incorporation of the connectivity, and consideration of percolation processes associated with the different molecular sizes of the adsorptives in the mixture, can improve the performance of the IAST in predicting multicomponent adsorption equilibria.

Assessing clinical reasoning: a method to monitor its development in a PBL curriculum

The aim of this study was to develop and trial a method to monitor the evolution of clinical reasoning in a PBL curriculum that is suitable for use in a large medical school. Termed Clinical Reasoning Problems (CRPs), it is based on the notion that clinical reasoning is dependent on the identification and correct interpretation of certain critical clinical features. Each problem consists of a clinical scenario comprising presentation, history and physical examination. Based on this information, subjects are asked to nominate the two most likely diagnoses and to list the clinical features that they considered in formulating their diagnoses, indicating whether these features supported or opposed the nominated diagnoses. Students at different levels of medical training completed a set of 10 CRPs as well as the Diagnostic Thinking Inventory, a self-reporting questionnaire designed to assess reasoning style. Responses were scored against those of a reference group of general practitioners. Results indicate that the CRPs are an easily administered, reliable and valid assessment of clinical reasoning, able to successfully monitor its development throughout medical training. Consequently, they can be employed to assess clinical reasoning skill in individual students and to evaluate the success of undergraduate medical schools in providing effective tuition in clinical reasoning.

What We Don't Know Could Hurt Us: A Single Center Study of Batch-to-Batch Variability of Dietary Fluids and Matched Videofluoroscopy Fluids

This study examines batch-to-batch variability in the production of dietary fluids and videofluoroscopy fluids of a single hospital. The material properties, such as viscosity, yield stress, and density, show significant variations between batches. Also waterbased products (i.e., cordial) provide (a) the most stability from week to week for both dietary and videofluoroscopy fluids and (b) the best dietary and videofluoroscopy fluid matches. The study also highlights the need for further research into how base substances, such as water, juice, and dairy products, react with different thickeners and with barium.

Single-chain antibodies produced by phage display against the C-terminal 19 kDa region of merozoite surface protein-1of Plasinodium yoelii reduce parasite growth following challenge

Antibodies have the potential to be therapeutic reagents for malaria. Here we describe the production of a novel phage antibody display library against the C-terminal 19 kDa region of the Plasmodium yoelii YM merozoite surface protein-1 (MSP1(19)). In vivo studies against homologous lethal malaria challenge show an anti-parasite effect in a dose dependent manner, and analysis by plasmon resonance indicates binding to the antigen is comparable to the binding of a protective monoclonal antibody. The data support the lack of a need for any antibody Fc-related function and hold great significance for the development of a therapeutic reagent for malaria. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

The nonexistence of spurious solutions to discrete, two-point boundary value problems

We investigate difference equations which arise as discrete approximations to two-point boundary value problems for systems of second-order, ordinary differential equations. We formulate conditions under which all solutions to the discrete problem satisfy certain a priori bounds which axe independent of the step-size. As a result, the nonexistence of spurious solutions are guaranteed. Some existence and convergence theorems for solutions to the discrete problem are also presented. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Single-nucleotide polymorphism in the CD14 promoter and periodontal disease expression in a Japanese population

It has been reported that there is a relationship between a single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the promoter region of the CD 14 gene at position -159 (C-->T) and infectious diseases. The aim of the present study was to test the hypthesis that expression of this SNP correlates with periodontal disease in a Japanese population. The CD14 genotype was determined in 163 subjects with periodontitis and in 104 age- and gender-matched control subjects without periodontitis. The genotype distribution and allele frequency within the periodontitis patients were not significantly different from those of control subjects. There was, however, a significant difference in the genotype distribution between young patients (< 35 yrs) and older patients (greater than or equal to 35 yrs). These findings suggest that CD14-159C/T polymorphism is not related to the development of periodontitis in a Japanese population, but that, within the periodontitis subjects, expression of the SNP may be related to early disease activity.

Existence of multiple solutions for finite difference approximations to second-order boundary value problems

Error condition detected We consider discrete two-point boundary value problems of the form D-2 y(k+1) = f (kh, y(k), D y(k)), for k = 1,...,n - 1, (0,0) = G((y(0),y(n));(Dy-1,Dy-n)), where Dy-k = (y(k) - Yk-I)/h and h = 1/n. This arises as a finite difference approximation to y" = f(x,y,y'), x is an element of [0,1], (0,0) = G((y(0),y(1));(y'(0),y'(1))). We assume that f and G = (g(0), g(1)) are continuous and fully nonlinear, that there exist pairs of strict lower and strict upper solutions for the continuous problem, and that f and G satisfy additional assumptions that are known to yield a priori bounds on, and to guarantee the existence of solutions of the continuous problem. Under these assumptions we show that there are at least three distinct solutions of the discrete approximation which approximate solutions to the continuous problem as the grid size, h, goes to 0. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Electron exchange coupling for single-donor solid-state spin qubits

Intervalley interference between degenerate conduction band minima has been shown to lead to oscillations in the exchange energy between neighboring phosphorus donor electron states in silicon [B. Koiller, X. Hu, and S. Das Sarma, Phys. Rev. Lett. 88, 027903 (2002); Phys. Rev. B 66, 115201 (2002)]. These same effects lead to an extreme sensitivity of the exchange energy on the relative orientation of the donor atoms, an issue of crucial importance in the construction of silicon-based spin quantum computers. In this article we calculate the donor electron exchange coupling as a function of donor position incorporating the full Bloch structure of the Kohn-Luttinger electron wave functions. It is found that due to the rapidly oscillating nature of the terms they produce, the periodic part of the Bloch functions can be safely ignored in the Heitler-London integrals as was done by Koiller, Hu, and Das Sarma, significantly reducing the complexity of calculations. We address issues of fabrication and calculate the expected exchange coupling between neighboring donors that have been implanted into the silicon substrate using an 15 keV ion beam in the so-called top down fabrication scheme for a Kane solid-state quantum computer. In addition, we calculate the exchange coupling as a function of the voltage bias on control gates used to manipulate the electron wave functions and implement quantum logic operations in the Kane proposal, and find that these gate biases can be used to both increase and decrease the magnitude of the exchange coupling between neighboring donor electrons. The zero-bias results reconfirm those previously obtained by Koiller, Hu, and Das Sarma.

Implicit vector equilibrium problems with applications

Let X and Y be Hausdorff topological vector spaces, K a nonempty, closed, and convex subset of X, C: K--> 2(Y) a point-to-set mapping such that for any x is an element of K, C(x) is a pointed, closed, and convex cone in Y and int C(x) not equal 0. Given a mapping g : K --> K and a vector valued bifunction f : K x K - Y, we consider the implicit vector equilibrium problem (IVEP) of finding x* is an element of K such that f (g(x*), y) is not an element of - int C(x) for all y is an element of K. This problem generalizes the (scalar) implicit equilibrium problem and implicit variational inequality problem. We propose the dual of the implicit vector equilibrium problem (DIVEP) and establish the equivalence between (IVEP) and (DIVEP) under certain assumptions. Also, we give characterizations of the set of solutions for (IVP) in case of nonmonotonicity, weak C-pseudomonotonicity, C-pseudomonotonicity, and strict C-pseudomonotonicity, respectively. Under these assumptions, we conclude that the sets of solutions are nonempty, closed, and convex. Finally, we give some applications of (IVEP) to vector variational inequality problems and vector optimization problems. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

On continuous selection problems for multivalued mappings with the local intersection property in hyperconvex metric spaces

In the paper we present two continuous selection theorems in hyperconvex metric spaces and apply these to study xed point and coincidence point problems as well as variational inequality problems in hyperconvex metric spaces.

Full-scale demonstration of biological nutrient removal in a single tank SBR process

Complete biological nutrient removal (BNR) in a single tank, sequencing batch reactor (SBR) process, is demonstrated here at full-scale on a typical domestic wastewater. The unique feature of the UniFed process is the introduction of the influent into the settled sludge blanket during the settling and decant periods of the SBR operation. This achieves suitable conditions for denitrification and anaerobic phosphate release which is critical to successful biological phosphorus removal, It also achieves a selector effect, which helps in generating a compact, well settling biomass in the reactor. The results of this demonstration show that it is possible to achieve well over 90% removal of GOD, nitrogen and phosphorus in such a process. Effluent quality achieved over a six-month operating period directly after commissioning was: 29 mg/l GOD, 0.5 mg/l NH4-N, 1.5 mg/l NOx-N and 1.5 mg/l PO4-P (50%-iles of daily samples). During an 8-day, intensive sampling period, the effluent BOD5 was